Hemsworth vs Ripon - Saturday 14th October 2023

Not quite the “Marvel” it purported to be and after a lack-lustre first half performance that saw Ripon battle the slope, the elements and the onslaught of the gravity assisted chunky home pack, The Blues turned in a solid second half performance to take the credit and five league points away from home.

The pre-match messaging was: to play with a sense of urgency from early on and keeping discipline. Effectively, to turn up and be counted and keep their noses clean. Not quite the anticipated start however, and with a forgettable first 40 minutes, Ripon did enough to weather the storm, quite literally at times and wait for the favourable conditions that the second period would bring.

In changeable weather conditions, the wind and slope and at one point some driving rain in the faces of the Ripon team, made the first half a challenging affair, which saw the hosts take an early lead and apply significant disruption to The Blues’ normal composure. With all the half’s points being scored in the first ten minutes, the next thirty were a case of “close, but no cigar” as Ripon failed to get into gear despite some spirited outbursts against largely ineffective opposition. An unhelpful factor was the untimely loss of Clark midway through the period after an allegedly foul tackle, though in keeping the first half Penalties down to single figures, the Ripon discipline was showing good signs of staying under control. A similar picture emerged in the second half, however, with as many Penalties conceded again, which whilst some of the refereeing rationales were difficult to understand, wouldn’t be a position Ripon would like to find themselves in more frequently; particularly against opposition that may be more inclined to punish errors of judgement.

Recently promoted Hemsworth had struggled, similarly to Ripon, to find consistent form this season so far and whilst both sides noted several changes from their normal line ups, The Blues made more of the melting pot of selection and whilst admittedly taking a good 40 minutes before getting into their stride, showed more organisation and cohesive team play than their hosts. Despite providing a constant source of irritation at the breakdown, where counter-rucking and speed off the line made them serious contenders for loose ball, the hosts had little to offer at the set piece and couldn’t live with Ripon’s relentless driving play up the middle and pace around the outside.

Selection this week looked more like a game of “52 card pickup”, with changes back well into double figures at 14 and only three starters remaining in the same position as in the last Blues’ league outing. At the rear, Morgan Clark was recalled at Full Back for his incisive counter attacking pace and defensive prowess. Harvey Hooley kept his place on the Right Wing, with a second half injury time Try that sealed the hosts’ fate and Tom Graham shifting position back to his favoured Left Wing. The Centres saw a realignment of Liam Wood at Outside and Try scoring Archie Thompson at Inside. Bray moved up to Number 10 for a virtuoso performance of game control, with two fine individual Tries and five Conversions to make his personal contribution of 20 points to the scoreline. Max Marston remained in situ at Scrum Half to complete the back division.

In the pack, yet another new look front row, saw an opening for Keith Anderson to start at Loose Head again and Adam Newcombe reinstated to his rightful place at Hooker. The indomitable Dom Dalby returned to the fray for his first league appearance of the season after a lengthy lay off and put in a creditable shift. Skipper Iain Barker retained his berth in the second row and was joined this week by “Player of the Day” Tom Roebuck, recycled from last week’s back row. Wharton made it back into the starting line-up at Open Side after 3 weeks on the bench and was joined by James Pearce guesting at Blind Side. Nick Perez made the Number 8 position his own again and earned distinction with his tireless efforts with ball in hand, the only Try of the first half and a further line crossing midway through the second half.

This week’s bench saw George Evans, champing at the bit to get back into the starting line-up, Harry Veitch to add some grit later on and new signing Steve Youngson, to add some pace out wide.

Hemsworth used the wind well from the kick off deep into Ripon territory and were quick to close down the attempted break out. Using quick hands through Thompson and Perez, The Blues carried play up the hill and were gifted a Penalty for opposition hands in a ruck. The Penalty touch kick and return took play back deep into the visitors’ half and a calamitous crossing between Clark and Wood gave the hosts the Penalty advantage, which they duly converted with a wind-assisted kick to open the scoring at 3 – 0 with two minutes played. Ripon responded well from the restart and drove well up the hill into enemy territory. From a scrum, Ripon attacked through Perez, Barker and Thompson. Perez was then on hand to take the offload and crash through three attempted tackles to touch down for The Blues’ first and only score of the half. Bray couldn’t power the Conversion attempt through the wind and so the score settled at 3 – 5 and remained there for the rest of the half.

For the next thirty minutes, Ripon tried hard to play their usual structure and gained territory, but just failed to make the scores. At 16 minutes, a strong Ripon response to a home scrum, saw the ball shifted quickly to Graham in space. Backing his pace and strength, “Tommy G” ploughed through the midfield and pirouetted his way to within five metres of the line before being bundled into touch. From the line out, the hosts aimed to play out from behind their posts, but the move broke down and with Ripon adjudged to have knocked on, Hemsworth had a scrum put in five metres off their line. A mighty shove knocked them off their stride but their plucky Scrum Half seized the bobbling ball on his own line, ducked through the entire Ripon pack and broke as far as halfway before being hauled down by Wood. The rest of the half played out without too much drama save for the questionable despatch of Clark to the sin bin for an allegedly foul tackle. Whether right or wrong, The Blues closed ranks and nullified any advantage the hosts might have made of the extra man and no further scoring chances appeared either way.

The half time team talk reiterated the pre-match mantra and sought to motivate The Blues to get into their groove and make better use of the slope and the wind. That they did, with an emphatic display, which saw a further five Converted Tries to no reply and a strengthening platform from the set piece to launch wave after wave of attacks and counter attacks. Though after losing the first scrum against the head after a front row reshuffle, things looked at first like they weren’t going to get going.

After the early twitchiness, compounded by a perhaps over-confident touch kick rather than a Penalty Goal from a host infringement after just two minutes, which resulted in a not straight line out throw, Ripon finally got a grip and started to play with composure. After seven minutes, the efforts paid off and from a stable scrum, Marston fed Bray and then Thompson, who seeing a gap emerging infield, weaved through the first couple of defenders to run in unopposed. Bray Converted to further Ripon’s lead to 3 – 12.

No sooner had the numbers stopped swinging on the manual scoreboard, the hosts’ restart kick was casually fielded by Youngson, who from his own 22, scorched his way down hill to the opposition 10 metre line. From the tackle, Marston hit Bray at pace and sensing the defence misaligned, the “rampaging giraffe” stepped and jinked through the remaining home territory to touch down for his first. Converting his own Try was the base layer of the cake, which later amounted to a massive personal 20 points haul.

With the score at 3 – 19, the hosts stepped up their efforts and started to make a big impact at the breakdown. Unfortunately for them, there was little advantage gained from Penalty opportunities and as Ripon quickly learned how to manage the counter-ruck, there was precious little left in the Hemsworth armoury to help them. After some ten minutes of midfield melanges, Perez launched himself from the base of a scrum to smash his way through the opposition again for his second Try. Bray, now in the swing with his boot added the conversion for 3 – 26.
Another ten minutes of enterprise but no reward followed from Ripon and no serious response from the hosts. Some tit for tat Penalty exchanges put The Blues in a good attacking position with less than ten minutes left to play. Bray broke the deadlock again, when from a scrum, Clark now at Scrum Half made the initial break from the base. Bray then took the ball at pace and again seeing the space opening up in front of him, ditched the planned move, dummied left and jinked right to touch down for his second. Bray didn’t exactly make it easy for his Conversion attempt, but it went over neatly to take the score to 3 – 33.

As the clock ticked away, a further effort from Graham saw him take on the whole opposition with a massive 60 metre cross field run, only to be dragged down in the home five metre area. Despite the hosts breaking out into the wind, Ripon again gained control and built another attack through carefully controlled phases. Perez was instrumental again in a dramatic finale, which saw Wood carrying on the attack and finally feeding Hooley to run in the sixth and final Try. Bray’s mighty Conversion from the touchline iced the cake nicely, took the score to an emphatic 3 – 40 and on the final whistle, much for the visitors to celebrate.

Smiles all round as Ripon left the pitch, happy with the bonus point win away from home and commiserations to gallant hosts, who put far more into the game than the scoreline suggests. League standings won’t have changed much, with other results from the weekend going pretty much with form. The middle of Counties 2 Yorkshire, does however, look quite compact, with six teams having just three points between them, the next round could be quite decisive.

Next week Ripon 1st XV return home to defend Mallorie Park against Ossett and with two teams playing at home, face the prospect of a full house and the excitement of the annual “Ladies day” to provide plenty of vocal encouragement. Kick off remains at 3.00pm until the end of the month and all supporters are welcome.